Taken
by muhnemma
Summary: Straight after their victory at the Collector base the crew of the Normandy are hit by a new crisis. It falls to Garrus to lead an almost impossible rescue mission. FemShep/Garrus.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

No one would have believed that the barely functioning ship that docked at Omega was only several months old, an improved version of the most advanced ship in the Alliance. The crew that disembarked was a strange one: humans talking amiably with a turian, a salarian walking astride with a krogan. They seemed to have only two things in common. The first was their battered stated: uniforms torn, armour scorched and dented and all were obviously suffering from exhaustion. The second was the air of celebration that seemed to surround them, easily read in the way they smiled and stepped lightly despite their tiredness. One woman was unmistakeably in charge. Although she wore the same uniform as most of the others, bearing no distinguishing insignia, something about the way she held herself spoke of command. For all that, they had no fear that they would draw attention. Far stranger crews arrived at the Omega docks daily.

Despite their confidence in their inconspicuousness, they were being watched. Three operatives had been sent to Omega to wait for this ship and inform their employers of its return. The first was unfamiliar with this type of work, and had agreed to do it only as a favour to a man he respected deeply. The second was employed by the Council, sent to spy on the woman they half hoped would never return from beyond the Omega 4 Relay. The final operative was fully aware of the other two, had ferreted them out and discovered their intentions within hours of their arrival on Omega. She made no move to hinder or kill them as her employer would have wished; there was no need. Had the ship taken any longer to arrive, however, she may have considered it. She was growing bored with Omega's meagre entertainments and wanted the small excitement that hunting the others would provide.

The moment they caught sight of the ship and its commander, the operatives hurried to report to their employers.

In recent months Kaidan Alenko had become reacquainted with insomnia. It was an old and unwelcome visitor, his frequent companion for a year after his commander's death. Sleep had returned eventually, and the new responsibilities that came with his promotion usually left him exhausted at the end of each day. That had changed after running into a ghost on Horizon. Now every night he lay awake, torn between fury at her traitorous new alliance and a terrible fear that he would lose her again. Even though he had refused her offer of a place on her crew, there was also the small and petty resentment at being left out.

As a result he was awake when his terminal beeped quietly, alerting him to a new message. Although he had been waiting for it for days, he hesitated for a moment before opening it. What if it confirmed his worst fear? When he eventually hit the button, his shoulders sagged with relief. The message was short but all that he had hoped for: _Normandy back at Omega. Shepard alive. _

In an office not far from Kaidan's, Councilor Anderson was receiving a similar message. It was practically a report, going into detail about the state of the ship and the crew, but in essence it was the same. He had gone to considerable trouble to obtain it. The other councillors had not informed him of the covert surveillance taking place on Omega, but suspicion told him they would not allow their troublesome Spectre to go unmonitored and a little digging had proved him right. A few thousand credits had convinced a trusted official to send a copy of the spy's transmission to him once it arrived.

In three widely separated, highly guarded facilities three secure terminals beeped in unison. Having been ordered to be prepared for a message, operatives had watched the terminals in shifts for several hours. When the alert came they were at the keys in seconds, entering the complex password that would allow them access to the encoded transmission. When it was finally opened the message set in motion a flurry of activity and preparation that stretched throughout the galaxy.


	2. A Disappearance

**A Disappearance **

Garrus stood rigidly in front of the food counter, fingers drumming impatiently against the surface as he glowered at what Gardner had served up. There was a tray of red sludge and a tray of white sludge. They smelled equally disgusting. Which would Shepard prefer?

He glanced surreptitiously around the room for hints. No help there: the humans were eagerly shovelling forkfuls of both types of the stuff into their mouths. He couldn't even ask anyone for advice. Although Shepard always sat with the crew at meal times she was normally too busy checking in with everyone to eat anything, and tended to take food back to her room after everyone had dispersed. He supposed he could always sample the food himself, if he didn't mind running the risk of an allergic reaction, but he doubted it would taste any better than it smelled.

"Finally decided to brave our food?" asked Joker, arriving with plate in hand for a second helping.

"No," said Garrus shortly.

Joker shrugged. "Don't blame you. Even if you're not allergic Gardner's cooking might still kill you." Gardner swore good naturedly, apparently not offended as despite his comment Joker was piling food high onto his plate.

Deciding that if he was going to ask anyone for advice it might as well be Joker, Garrus began, "I'm trying to pick something for Shepard, but-"

"Go with the lasagne," Joker interrupted, pointing at the appropriate tray of food when it became clear that Garrus had no idea what lasagne was.

"You're sure?"

"Positive. Shepard is a fellow insomniac. We've had more late night snack sessions than I can count."

Mumbling his thanks, Garrus began to spoon lasagne onto a plate, trying to inhale as little of the smell as possible.

By the time Garrus had finished plating up Shepard's food the mess hall was almost empty. Only half of the crew had been there to begin with and the others were keen to eat and leave as quickly as possible. Shepard had declared twenty four hours of shore leave for the exhausted and still shaken crew. When they had docked at the Citadel earlier in the day there were still some repairs that needed completing, but they were only minor. When the engineers who sold them the final parts they needed offered to install them, Shepard accepted and gave everyone the day off.

Everyone was taking advantage of the free time. Even Joker, who almost never left the ship during shore leave, had caved into Kelly and agreed to go out. Everyone, of course, but Shepard. She desperately needed some downtime. The last time she had slept properly was when they docked at Omega, and that only came about through the combined nagging of Chakwas, Mordin and EDI. She seemed to be everywhere at once while the repairs were being carried out, determined to make sure everyone had what they needed to restore the ship to its former condition. He had no real hope of tempting her away from work tonight. The Council had agreed to meet with her in the morning and she was determined to get their evidence in order to send to Anderson in advance.

When Garrus returned to the loft he found it much as he had left it. The overhead lights were turned off in favour of a bright lamp on the desk. The desk itself was a mess of papers and datapads that eerily resembled his old desk at C-Sec. Whereas he had never been able to find one specific half written report among the others, Shepard knew exactly where everything was. The chaos, she had told him smirking, was actually a finely tuned filing system too complex for anyone but her to grasp. He was almost certain that she hadn't budged an inch from her hunched over position, her hands the only part of her that moved as they flew across the keyboard.

She insisted on working with pen and paper rather than using her terminal. Writing by hand gave her time to think things over, she had explained. It was a practice she had picked up from years of watching her mother handwrite all of her reports despite how much time it consumed. Judging by the pages and pages of scrawled writing, crossed out and corrected many times, Shepard had finished her report and was now undertaking the mind numbing task of typing it all up.

Her head jerked up as he slid the food onto the desk's only clear space, careful not to disturb anything. She fell on it ravenously. "Good?" asked Garrus. In between bites she grunted in what he was fairly certain was a positive manner. Realising that he wasn't going to get anything intelligible out of her until after she had eaten, he retreated to the sofa.

There was a small pile of well thumbed books at one end. He had never visited Shepard's quarters on the SR1, but she informed him that she'd had a very small library there. Those books, along with her other few possessions, had been destroyed in the attack on the ship. She hadn't had the time to replace them in the last few months but Kasumi let her borrow whatever she wanted from her collection. Garrus picked one up and flicked through the pages idly. Not for the first time he wished he could speak Shepard's language. Both of them resented their reliance on translators to understand each other, but when life was at its most chaotic they barely had time to sleep let alone learn another language. Perhaps if they came through the coming war with the Reapers, when things were less hectic, they could find some time to try.

"Thank you," said Shepard, pulling Garrus from his thoughts. "I needed that."

"I thought you might. When did you last have a break?"

She flicked her hand, brushing away the comment. "I'll rest when it's done. But while we're on the topic, what are you doing here?"

"I thought I was welcome?" said Garrus in a mock offended tone

"You are – but not tonight. I told the crew to go and have some fun and that includes _you_, Officer Vakarian."

"I don't see you taking time off," he pointed out. "Not unless your definition of 'fun' involves paperwork."

She smirked. "You're forgetting that I'm not crew. I'm the boss."

Rising, he came to stand behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "How am I supposed to have fun knowing you're stuck here with all this?" He gestured at the mounds of work.

"I'm sure you can cope," she said drily, but briefly covered his hand with hers. "If it makes you feel any better, I promise I'll get some rest as soon as I'm done. It should take another two hours, three at most."

"Right," he said sceptically. "I know you too well to believe that. By the time I get back you'll be recalibrating the guns."

Shepard rolled her eyes. "I'd never dream of taking over your precious calibrations." She grinned at him but, seeing that he remained unmoved, she sighed and said seriously, "Look, I'll send you a message when everything is finished. If you're not having too much fun you can come back and supervise my rest time."

"I suppose that will have to do," he muttered grudgingly. In a last attempt he pressed his forehead against the top of her head, nuzzling her hair affectionately. "You're sure I can't stay?" he murmured.

"Positive," she said firmly.

Defeated, Garrus left after issuing one more plea for her to rest soon. Everyone else must have left already because there was no one in sight when he reached the CIC. He had only ever seen it so empty on one other occasion – when the crew had been abducted by Collectors. The memory made the deserted room seem somehow sinister. Cursing himself for his foolishness, he hurried out of the ship.

In the docking bay he paused, considering where to go. It was a full five minutes before he finally resigned himself with a sigh and began to make his way to the Dark Star Lounge.

He had never been fond of clubs, but over the past eighteen months he had come to hate them. Perhaps he had come to associate them too much with Omega, where criminals and merc gangs operated under Aria's watchful gaze in Afterlife. Unfortunately for him, there was nowhere else to go. The few people who weren't going to Dark Star had arranged to meet family or friends and wouldn't want him tagging along. He had no one to visit, having alienated most of his colleagues at C-Sec. Even if he had a closer relationship with his father, the senior Vakarian had returned to Palaven after his retirement.

When he got to the club he found it packed. He could only see a couple of the crew scattered amongst everyone else. He rocked on his heels in the doorway, considering whether to return to the _Normandy _and throw himself on Shepard's mercy. Just as he was about to leave he caught a glimpse of Tali through a break in the crowd. She happened to glance up and, seeing him standing there, waved him over.

When he managed to make his way through the crowd he saw that Tali shared a table with Ken and Gabby. The former had apparently talked Tali into a game of Skyllian-Five and was already reaching into his pocket for a credit chit. Sliding into the seat next to Tali he caught the end of her sentence, "... But go easy on me, I've only played once before." He suppressed a chuckle, grateful that most humans struggled to read his facial expressions. Onboard the old _Normandy _he had fallen for Tali's 'Go easy on me' line and lost several hundred credits to her. He had sworn never to be tricked again but hadn't counted on Tali teaching Shepard her tactic, resulting in yet more lost credits.

Two hours later and Ken had lost even more credits than Garrus had, much to Gabby's smirking amusement. As he could no longer afford to buy one, Garrus promised to console him with a free drink. He was just rising to go to the bar when his omni tool beeped in unison with Tali's. Exchanging puzzled looks, they both looked down to read the message that had just arrived. Seeing it was from Shepard Garrus's mandibles widened slightly; she must have changed her mind and wanted to meet up with them rather than stay onboard the ship. When he opened the message, however, he found there was only one word: _Alchera. _

"Alchera?" said Tali, sounding as confused as he felt. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know. It's the planet where they found the first _Normandy_, but why-?"

His sentence was interrupted by a frantic Joker calling for them and limping quickly to their table. Chakwas, face drawn in a worried frown, was hot on his heels accompanied by a clearly bemused Gardner. "You need to get back to the ship _now_," said Joker bluntly.

Garrus was already on his feet reaching for his pistol. He may have left his rifle onboard the _Normandy_, but even on a night off he was never completely unarmed. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"You got the message from Shepard?" asked Joker.

"We both did but neither of us understand it," said Tali.

"You wouldn't, it's a codeword. Long story short, when we first started working for Cerberus and before you two showed up Shepard decided we needed a codeword for danger."

"We chose Alchera," said Chakwas sombrely.

"Which means Shepard is in trouble. _Big_ trouble that even she can't handle."

Garrus scanned the room in a glance, searching the crowd for signs of the crew. They had to be on the Citadel somewhere and most were probably in the Dark Star, but the club was packed and none were in sight. Cursing quietly, he turned back to Joker and said, "Find the others and tell them to get to the _Normandy. _If it's too much trouble for Shepard to handle we'll probably have a big fight on our hands."

Before Joker could reply Garrus had flown across the room and exited the club, matched pace for pace by an equally anxious Tali. The run to the elevator passed in silence except for the quiet rustling as she produced and checked her pistol. He could feel her eyes on him, watching him with concern, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything reassuring. The idea of trouble too big for Shepard to handle was something he couldn't comprehend. This was the woman who took down thresher maws and Reapers; until a few minutes ago he hadn't been aware that there was a situation she couldn't handle. There was something even more worrying than that: Shepard had called for help. She _never _asked for help, would rather risk her own life needlessly than put her crew in danger.

Garrus was reminded strongly of the elevator trip on their way to confront Saren. Shepard had stood perfectly, almost unnaturally, still but hummed with suppressed energy, while Kaidan watched her with anxiety in his eyes. Now he stood unmoving as a rock, growing more agitated with every passing second.

As the elevator neared the docking bay, both he and Tali pressed themselves against opposite walls in the hope that they would avoid enemy fire should an ambush be stationed outside. In the second before the doors opened Garrus silently cursed everything: the rest of the crew for not being there to help, their lack of decent weapons and finally Shepard herself for refusing to leave the _Normandy _tonight. He levelled his pistol at the door and out of the corner of his eye saw Tali do the same.

The door opened a crack and Garrus could clearly see someone standing outside; his finger tightened on the trigger. When the gap widened, however, he realised it was Kelly Chambers. Although she wore a slightly confused expression, she didn't seemed frightened or alarmed. A quick glance over her shoulder revealed that there were no mercs, no geth, no mechs – the marauding army he had half expected to find was nowhere in sight.

"What's going on?" asked Kelly. Without waiting for a response she rushed on, "I decided I wanted an early night but it's gone. Has something gone wrong?"

"What's gone?" demanded Tali but Garrus, fearing he already knew the answer, didn't hang around to hear Kelly's reply. He pushed past her with a little too much force, eliciting a squawk of protest that he barely heard. Emerging into the docking bay, he looked to where the ship should be and froze, weapon hanging uselessly in his hand. He was dimly aware of Tali talking to him, asking what was wrong, until she stepped around Kelly and saw for herself what had shocked him into silence.

The _Normandy_ was gone.


	3. The Councilor

Garrus could feel Tali tugging persistently on his arm, hear her worried voice, but for the moment these things had no meaning. He was locked in an internal battle as his mind struggled to reject the reality of the situation. As the elevator opened and more of the crew, directed there by Joker, poured into the docking bay Garrus argued with himself. He knew that Shepard had been on the ship when it was stolen, realised that she would only have sent that message in the direst of emergencies, but a part of his mind stubbornly insisted that she _always _had a plan. At any moment she would appear next to him, cursing and furious at the theft of the ship but already devising a strategy to get it back.

_Stop it, _he finally ordered. _Every moment you waste here the chances of finding Shepard decrease. _

That did it. He mentally shook himself and surveyed the now crowded docking bay, assessing the situation. Most of the crew had arrived in the brief time he had been frozen and were now talking amongst themselves in fast, hushed tones. Tali was at his side, hand still fixed firmly on his arm as she stared up at him. He didn't need to see her face to know how worried she was. Shepard had built friendships with everyone she had recruited in the past months, but she had a closer relationship with those who had been with her during the hunt for Saren. Garrus, Tali, Joker and Chakwas were more than friends to Shepard; they were family.

When Tali spoke her voice was desolate. "She was on the ship, wasn't she?"

Garrus nodded, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "We'll get her back," he said firmly.

A murmur ran through the crew as they realised the implications of Garrus's words. Miranda pushed to the front of the small crowd that had formed around Garrus and Tali. "What are you suggesting, Vakarian?" she demanded. "That Shepard has been abducted?"

"I think so. She was on the ship and the message she sent was a codeword for danger."

A collective cry of denial rose from the crew.

Garrus raised his hands and called for quiet. To his surprise, the noise from the crew ceased almost immediately. For the first time he was grateful that Shepard had placed him in charge of the fire team at the Collector base. At the time he had resented not being able to fight by her side, but apparently it had given him a certain amount of authority with the others. Hoping that he sounded calmer than he felt he said, "We need to move quickly if we're going to have a chance of finding her."

"Wait a moment, _I _am Shepard's second-in-command," said Miranda indignantly. "If anyone is going to give orders here it will be me."

"Like hell you are!" interjected Jack. "You were second-in-command when the _Normandy _was a Cerberus ship. In case you hadn't noticed, we don't work for Cerberus anymore. I'd rather take orders from the turian."

He glowered at Jack, cursing her silently. He had no interest in seizing Miranda's position and power, and a struggle with her would only delay their search for Shepard. He was painfully aware that with every moment that passed the _Normandy _hurtled further away from the Citadel. Unfortunately, some were now voicing their agreement with Jack. Talented and powerful as Miranda might be, she had never tried to ingratiate herself with the crew. Without Shepard's support and confidence to back her up, most were transferring their allegiance to him.

Ignoring the others he turned to focus solely on Miranda. "Officer Lawson," he said, addressing her by her official title for the first time, "I suggest splitting up. Someone might have seen something and there might be something on the security vids. Anderson might be willing to help us, too."

She stared at him with surprise and another emotion that he couldn't quite fathom. It was only when she spoke that he realised it was gratitude. She nodded infinitesimally, acknowledging what he had done for her, and said, "I agree." Turning her attention away from him, she raised her voice and directed herself to everyone else. "We need to question anyone who might have seen something."

While Miranda gave instructions to the bulk of the crew, Garrus drew a few select people to one side. He spoke to Thane and Tali first.

"Are you still in touch with Bailey?" he asked Thane.

Thane inclined his head slightly. "He keeps me informed of Kolyat's progress."

"Good. I need you two to head over to C-Sec to check the security feeds. Get Bailey to watch them with you. If we get lucky whoever did this might have slipped up and hired someone with a record."

"We're on it," said Tali as the two turned to leave.

"Stay in contact," he called after them. "I want to know the moment you find something."

Next came Kasumi and Jacob. He beckoned them away from the others and they came quickly, eager for instruction. "I need you to go back to the club. Hopefully Joker has the sense not to work everyone into a panic, but there's no guarantee. Keep everyone together and keep them calm." He paused, realising that without the _Normandy _they would need a place to house everyone. Without access to Cerberus resources that could have proved problematic. Fortunately Shepard had gone to great lengths to conserve the credits they earned, probably foreseeing their eventual break from The Illusive Man and his funding. Punching instructions into his omni-tool he said, "Look for somewhere to put everybody until we get the ship back. I've given you access to Shepard's account. There's enough in there to last for a while, providing you don't put everyone up in a fancy hotel."

Kasumi smirked as they turned to leave. "You sure know how to spoil my fun."

When Garrus returned to the main group it was clear that Miranda had finished briefing them. They were now heading to the elevator, most looking relieved that they had something useful to do. Shotgun in hand, Grunt looked positively gleeful at the prospect of interrogating bystanders. Garrus winced, pitying whoever had the misfortune to stroll past the krogan. He slowed his pace, allowing the others to walk ahead of him and falling in step with Miranda. "Do you think this could have been Cerberus?" he asked quietly.

She paused, waiting for the elevator doors to close on the others before speaking. "Has to be," she replied without preamble. "You can't just walk onto a ship like the _Normandy _and take it. There are others who could have been responsible. The people who designed and built the original ship might know enough about it to be able to steal it, but I wouldn't waste time speculating about their involvement. Cerberus has the knowledge, the resources and the motive."

When they arrived on the Presidium Garrus was relieved to see that even though it was night on the Citadel, Anderson's door was open and a small light illuminated his room. The Councilor was seated at his desk, rapidly making notes on a datapad between intermittent glances at his terminal. Engrossed in his work, it took him a long moment to realise that visitors were hovering anxiously in the doorway. When he finally looked up and saw Garrus, he smiled openly. Although they were never exactly friends, in the months following the _Normandy's _destruction they had developed a firm respect for each other. They had worked closely together on coordinating the search teams that hunted for Shepard's body, and when they had finally given up Anderson had made a point of consulting him about the funeral. He had even offered to throw his new political weight behind Garrus's Spectre candidacy if he chose to renew it.

"Officer Vakarian," he greeted Garrus warmly, addressing him by his old C-Sec title out of habit. "I wasn't expecting to see anyone so late. Did Shepard send you to make sure I got the report?"

"No," said Garrus bluntly. "She's gone. Someone has taken her."

Anderson, who had half risen to welcome them, fell back into his seat. "What happened?" he demanded.

Garrus felt a rush of gratitude that Anderson had been a military man long before he became a politician. There was no sidestepping the issue or stalling; he cut directly to the point. He explained the situation quickly and concisely, leaving Miranda to voice her suspicions of Cerberus's responsibility. As they spoke the warmth in Anderson's face vanished, replaced by familiar lines of tension. When they finished he sat silently for a moment, absently pushing a datapad around his desk as he concentrated.

"There's no point in asking the Council for help," he said quietly, almost to himself. "They can't be seen to be assisting a woman who worked for a known terrorist group. No use going to the Alliance, either. If they publicly aid a former Cerberus crew then they risk provoking a reaction from the Council. Perhaps there's another way."

He sank back into silence and Garrus had to resist the urge to snap at the Councilor. Patience had never been his strong suit, which was one of the reasons why he had been so unhappy at C-Sec. Omega had taught him some. Running head first into danger and risking your own life was one thing, it was quite another to drag a squad in after you. The moment they were murdered, however, he had reverted back to form. If Shepard hadn't found him, and he had somehow survived the combined attack by three merc groups, he probably would have continued on his reckless path until it killed him.

"This needs to be handled quietly," said Anderson firmly. "Under no circumstances can this become public knowledge." He rolled his eyes, exasperation flitting briefly over his features. "God knows what a reporter like Al-Jilani would make of this. The only solution I can see is to find a discrete commander willing to put their ship in your hands."

His eyes met Garrus's and he knew exactly which commander Anderson had in mind.

"No," he almost snarled, startled by the heat in his voice. He caught Miranda's swift glance, the almost amused lift of her eyebrow, but ignored her.

His refusal was a knee jerk reaction. He was honest enough to be able to admit the some of his dislike of Kaidan had been founded in jealousy. Back on the SR-1 he had been forced to watch the progress of Kaidan's awkward flirtation with the commander. He hadn't then realised that his feelings for Shepard ran deeper than admiration, but seeing Kaidan walk purposefully to the commander's quarters the night before Ilos had left him irritable and unsettled. It had moved far past that by now. As far as he was concerned, what Kaidan had said on Horizon was unforgivable. Shepard had tried hard to hide it, and had succeeded with the rest of the crew, but Garrus knew her well enough to see how much the accusations of betrayal had hurt her.

Anderson stared back at Garrus calmly. "Can you think of another option?"

"I doubt that Commander Alenko would be willing to help Shepard. He thinks she's a traitor."

Miranda inclined her head towards him and said quietly, "Speed is vital, Vakarian. We can't afford to stand here arguing when the Councilor is offering us a viable option."

He glared at her, wanting to snap that working with Kaidan Alenko was _not _a viable option. Unblinking she held his gaze. He grunted, trying hard to relinquish his hostility before it got Shepard killed, and turned his eyes back on Anderson. "_If_ Kaidan agrees to this, how would it work?"

Anderson nodded in relieved approval, casting a brief but grateful look in Miranda's direction. "You will have full control of the mission – and when I say you I mean _you_, Garrus."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Miranda draw herself up, readying herself for a fight. "Councilor Anderson," she said, her voice icily polite, "as Shepard's XO I should be in charge of this mission."

"I appreciate your position, Miss Lawson, but I can't allow it. As a former Cerberus operative it will be a struggle to convince Commander Alenko to admit you onto his ship at all."

"Speed is vital, Lawson," murmured Garrus, unable to keep the dry amusement out of his voice.

Miranda's head whipped around to glower at him. This was becoming an unpleasantly frequent occurrence for her. First Shepard had chosen Garrus over her to lead the fire team and now Anderson wanted to place him in charge of the rescue mission. Although no sign of it showed on her face, Garrus knew that she was waging a battle with herself. Her desire to cling onto her position of power warred with the knowledge that Anderson would not back down on this issue. After the scene with Jack on the docking bay, she had to realise that most of the crew would probably support Garrus if she chose to start a power struggle.

"Fine," she conceded unwillingly. "Vakarian heads up the mission."

"Good," said Anderson shortly. "Now, while you will have complete control, the crew has to believe that Commander Alenko is still in charge. All instructions must be given to him privately, and he will then relay them to the crew. They're to know as little about the mission as possible. I'll work with Kaidan on creating a false reason for your presence on his ship."

He reached down and tapped something into his terminal. Garrus caught sight of several images as they flashed up on the screen: Thane, Samara and Grunt. Before he could wonder why the Councilor had pictures of them Anderson said, "Shepard reported a reasonably sized permanent crew and a large number of specialists. You can't take all of them, not even all of the specialists. Apart from there being far too little space, that number of people would attract a lot of unwanted attention." He looked directly at Garrus. "I suggest you choose no more than three people to take with you."

"I'm going," said Miranda immediately.

"I'll leave you to discuss it privately," said Anderson tactfully. "I need to contact Commander Alenko."

Nodding to them both, Anderson withdrew from the room. Garrus suspected that he could have contacted Kaidan just as well from his office, but he wanted to give them the chance to thrash out any issues in private. He needn't have bothered. Garrus knew that he had no hope of finding Shepard without Miranda's knowledge of Cerberus, and she was more than smart enough to realise that Anderson wouldn't give them any assistance without someone he trusted in charge of the mission. The only problem was choosing two people to accompany them.

Left behind on the Citadel, some of the more volatile crew members might grow dangerously restless. Jack would almost certainly chafe under anyone but Shepard's leadership, and Grunt recognised only the authority of his battlemistress. They might return to find the team irreparably fractured or missing a couple of members, and then they would be weakened for the looming battle with the Reapers. He shook his head as if trying to physically rid himself of that thought. He couldn't think about that now. The priority was to find Shepard.

"As much as I may come to regret this I suggest that we take Joker," said Miranda drily. "Finding Shepard is our priority but we must do all that we can to recover the _Normandy. _If we find it we'll need him to pilot it."

He nodded in agreement. "He might be able to help us on Alenko's ship, too. I don't know if they still are, but they used to be friends."

"They've exchanged several messages over the past few months."

"As for the - " he stopped abruptly as Miranda's words sank in. Mandibles drawn tight in tension, he stared at her in undisguised shock. He wasn't surprised that she had been spying on them, had known that Cerberus would monitor their communications, but he had never expected her to admit it. "Do I want to know how you know that?" he asked.

"Probably not," she replied, a smile playing around the corners of her lips.

"Right. As I was saying, I think we should bring Tali." There was no way he could leave her on the Citadel. Apart from their obvious need for her abilities, she would not tolerate being left behind, helpless and unable to do anything to help her friends.

"Agreed," said Miranda without argument, surprising Garrus again. "Cerberus bases always have heavy security, we need someone capable of bypassing it. Kasumi probably has superior experience, but if you prefer to take Tali-"

"I do," he said firmly.

" – she will be more than capable."

Garrus's comm crackled into life and the voice of the woman they had just been discussing sounded in his ear. "Garrus, I think we have something," said Tali.

He waited while Miranda rapidly punched instructions into her omni-tool, allowing herself into the conversation. When she indicated that she was ready he asked, "What have you found?"

"We're not completely sure. The last person to leave the ship was you and no one boarded after that. No signs of a fight either, the _Normandy _just took off. But when I looked further back I realised there was something we overlooked – there were people onboard who weren't crew."

"Non-crew?" he asked, perplexed. They very rarely let anyone who didn't belong to the ship's crew onboard, and EDI would have informed them if someone had entered the ship without Shepard's permission.

Miranda interrupted his train of thought with a hissed curse. "The engineers," she muttered. "I told Shepard they were a bad idea."

He stared at her blankly until realisation hit. To give the crew the night off Shepard had hired engineers to install the last components they needed. When he left he had thought that the ship was empty except for Shepard, but it was entirely possible the engineers were still onboard. Silently cursing himself for his carelessness he said, "You think they had something to do with it?"

"The security vid shows them entering the ship but not leaving it. Either it was a coincidence and they are incredibly unfortunate or they're involved somehow."

"Nobody is that unlucky," muttered Miranda.

Garrus was inclined to agree with her. "Are you done at C-Sec?" he asked Tali.

"Yes."

"Then find Kasumi and Jacob, they should have arranged a place for everyone to stay by now. We'll join you when we're finished with Anderson."

Tali agreed and broke the connection, but not before requesting that he contact her if he found out anything new. The moment she was gone Garrus contacted Jack. "We may have something," he said immediately, foregoing a greeting. "I need you to go to the place we got those parts earlier. Do you know it? "

"The store on the lower wards?"

"That's right. We think the engineers we hired there have something to do with this. If the place is empty then search for anything that might tell us who or where they are. If someone is still there then find out whatever they know." He paused briefly, considering, before adding, "Take Grunt and Zaeed with you."

Jack snorted. "So it's _that_ kind of questioning you want."

Ignoring the comment he ordered, "Let me know as soon as you're done."

"Got it, boss."

Breaking the connection, he turned back to Miranda to find that at some point while he was speaking to Jack Anderson had slipped unnoticed back into the room. He was talking quietly with Miranda who had wisely opted out of the conversation with Jack, assuming that her interjections would just slow things down. Seeing that Garrus was done Miranda turned her attention to him. "I was just appraising the Councilor of Tali's findings."

"Good," he said shortly, grateful that he didn't have to waste anymore time. "What did Kaidan say?"

Anderson paused before answering, worried eyes briefly flicking to Miranda before coming back to rest on Garrus. "Commander Alenko had agreed to the plan on the condition that he be allowed to search Officer Lawson's omni-tool data."

"What?" Miranda demanded, outraged.

"He feels that before he can allow a Cerberus officer - "

"I am not a Cerberus officer," she interrupted. "I broke ties with The Illusive Man when Shepard did."

"Even so," said Anderson through gritted teeth, calm slipping, "he won't let you board his ship unless he receives some sort of assurance that you no longer work for Cerberus."

Normally Garrus would have been annoyed by the hypocrisy of her outrage: only minutes ago she had admitted to reading the personal communications of the crew, and yet she was horrified at the thought of someone invading her privacy. Now, when her delaying of the inevitable was wasting yet more time, it grated on his already taut nerves. If he had to he would order her to hand the omni-tool over. He didn't want to, knew that it would make a tense situation worse, but he would if she left him no other choice.

Fortunately, Miranda chose to delay that inevitable confrontation.

While Garrus was thinking she had been watching Anderson closely, gauging how far she could push the issue. Realising that Anderson was immovable she relented. When she spoke her voice was reasonable, if tinged slightly with resentment. "I suppose I can't hold it against the commander." She slipped the omni-tool off and held it out in the palm of her open hand, waiting for Anderson to take it. "I would do the same in his position."

Anderson hesitated momentarily, hand hovering over the omni-tool as if expecting a trap. When Miranda remained unmoving, her stance relaxed and expression neutral, he took it.

"Thank you for cooperating, Officer Lawson," he said briskly. "If there's nothing else we need to discuss, I think we're done for the time being. I need to get this to Commander Alenko and I'm sure you need to liaise with your team."

Garrus murmured an agreement, his mind moving away from Anderson and back to the crew. As he arranged to meet with the Councilor in a few hours and strode from his office, he was already thinking about tracking down Tali and going over her findings in more detail. By the time that was over Jack and the others should have returned from the store, hopefully with some fresh information. After that would come the uncomfortable moment when he would have to tell everyone that most of them would be staying behind on the Citadel.

Wrapped up in his thoughts, it took him several seconds to realise that Miranda had said something. "What?" he asked, irritated at the interruption.

"I said we have a problem, Vakarian."

He could almost laugh. "Another one?"

She grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn and look her in the face. Her eyes were slightly wider than usual and her normally pale cheeks were flushed pink. It was with no small amount of surprise that Garrus realised Miranda was panicked. Or as close to panicked as she ever came, anyway. "There is data on my omni-tool that it would be... inconvenient for Commander Alenko to find."

He extracted himself from her grip. "What kind of data?"

"Transmissions to The Illusive Man."

He waved his hand, dismissing her concern. "Kaidan already knows you used to report to him."

"These transmissions are recent."

Garrus grew still. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinising her closely. "How recent?"

She hesitated for what seemed like an unbearably long time, mouth pressed in a tight line. Finally she said unwillingly, "They were sent a few hours ago." Seeing Garrus rear up, hand flying to his holstered pistol, she hurried on, "It's not what you think! Shepard asked me to maintain contact with The Illusive Man in the hope that we could feed him false intelligence."

"Sure," he sneered. Although his voice was steely, his hand paused over his gun. "Why am I only just hearing about this?"

She rolled her eyes. "Broadcasting my new responsibilities to the whole ship would hardly make me an effective spy. No one else could know."

"How convenient."

"Think about it, Vakarian," said Miranda, practically growling in frustration. "Why would I still be standing here if I still worked for The Illusive Man?"

"It could be part of a plan-"

"Which would have failed the moment Anderson demanded my omni-tool," she interrupted. They glared each other in silent dislike, both refusing to look away. It was finally Miranda who relented first. "Look, we don't have time to argue. I need your help. Alenko won't let me within a mile of that omni-tool. It might be possible for someone he knows to get into his office and delete the incriminating data. I thought you would be more amenable to the idea than Tali."

He gaped at her. "Do you really think I'm going to help you?"

"Do you really think you have a choice?" she snarled. "You need me if you want to find Shepard. You'll never find where Cerberus is holding her without my help."

With that she pushed past him, heading back to the elevator. She stepped inside but stopped the door as it began to slide shut. "Think about it, Garrus, but don't take too long," she said quietly. "For all we know Shepard doesn't have much time."

She allowed the door to shut and was gone.

Garrus knew he should go after her, detain her in case she tried to escape or send more secret messages to Cerberus, but right now his mind was focussed on the dilemma she presented. It was entirely possible that Shepard had asked to Miranda to act as a double agent of sorts. It was also possible that the woman who truly believed in Cerberus's aims could not bring herself to transfer allegiance away from its leader. They would need her knowledge of Cerberus bases to track down Shepard, but if she was lying then they could walk into a trap of her making.

He had a decision to make, and Shepard's life hung on the outcome.


	4. The Other Commander

When Garrus asked Tali for help, for a moment she was too dumbfounded to reply. He could imagine the wide eyed, disbelieving expression she must wear beneath her mask. He hadn't wanted to ask for her assistance in this. There had been tension between Tali and Miranda since the moment they met. The quarian's innate distrust of Cerberus was not assuaged by Miranda's cavalier attitude, and she had made it quite clear that she only tolerated working with them for Shepard's sake. As much as he hated having to ask her to put her feelings aside again, he had to. He could steal the omni-tool data himself but it would take time that they did not have. While there were others on the crew capable of the task there was no one he trusted more than Tali.

"You can't be serious," she said incredulously. "There's evidence that Miranda is working against us and you want to _destroy it_?"

"I know how it sounds, but I swear I know what I'm doing." He grimaced. "Or at least I hope I do."

"You can't possibly believe her about this – she has to be working for The Illusive Man."

"She chose to switch her loyalty to Shepard, just like the rest of the crew."

"And up until that point she was the perfect Cerberus office! She did everything according to their protocol, probably spied on us and sent reports to The Illusive Man."

Garrus sighed, exasperated. He had his own serious doubts about trusting Miranda and he was in danger of letting Tali talk him out of helping her, wasting time they didn't have. "Tali, believe me, I've been arguing with myself about this since Miranda approached me. But what it really comes down to is that Shepard trusts her, and I trust Shepard. I won't start second guessing her judgement now."

She stared at him for a long moment, and Garrus got the feeling he was being studied intently. "Keelah," she muttered to herself, sagging against the closest wall. She drummed her fingers against her leg, staring down at the floor, clearly trying to come to a decision."Alright," she finally said. "I've followed more questionable decisions of Shepard's."

"Like taking on a thresher maw?" he ventured.

"Like bringing an active geth onboard," she replied, a smile in her voice.

The mood changed subtly as Tali pushed herself upright and straightened her shoulders. The time for jokes, however small, had passed as they faced the daunting task of stealing data in the possession of an Alliance commander.

"How are we going to do this?" asked Tali.

"That depends on how close you need to get to the omni-tool."

"I can access it remotely but I would guess that I need to be inside his apartment. A normal apartment would not be a problem, but it looks like the Alliance entrusts Kaidan with some fairly sensitive information these days. He probably has decent security."

Garrus nodded. He had been cherishing a small hope that he would not have to get her into Kaidan's apartment, but really he had known better. Nothing was that simple. "We could sneak you in but I think it would be better if we both went to see him openly. To welcome him aboard the crew, discuss the mission, all of that stuff."

"And how am I meant to get to the data?"

"I've already spoken to Thane about that. I'll let him know when we're nearly at Kaidan's apartment and a few minutes after that he'll contact you with some made up problem. Ask Kaidan if there's somewhere you can talk privately. Hopefully he'll take you to another room and you'll have a chance to get into Miranda's omni-tool."

Tali nodded. "Let's hope he keeps it in a separate room," she said grimly.

"I doubt he'll keep it on his coffee table."

Plan in place, they began to make their way to Kaidan's apartment. Garrus would have been lying to himself if he denied feeling nervous, and not just because of what they were about to do. Three years ago, he and Kaidan had been friends. They had disagreements from time to time, normally stemming from the difference in Kaidan's cautious approach and Garrus's tendency to charge in headfirst, but whatever arguments they had never lasted longer than a mission. He might have been uncomfortable when Kaidan's relationship with Shepard turned to romance, but he had never had a problem with the man himself. They had both changed in the time since Shepard's death, but Garrus liked to think that if Kaidan had joined the Normandy's crew they could have been friends again.

But instead there had been Horizon.

The rational side of his mind (which he found he was rarely in the mood to listen to when it came to people who hurt Shepard) tried to insist that perhaps he would have had difficulty believing Shepard's story if she hadn't sought him out immediately. When she found him on Omega there was no denying the extent of her injuries. Her face and hands, any visible skin, were still laced with that network of strange, glowing scars. There was something strange about the way she moved: most of the time she walked with ease and purpose, but occasionally she would falter as if suddenly uncertain. By the time she reunited with Kaidan, however, her scars were almost completely healed and she had regained her old confidence.

Despite the sense of betrayal, it must have been easier for Kaidan to believe that Shepard had faked her death and spent the missing years working deep undercover. The truth was too fantastical, and painful, to be believed. Garrus sometimes wished he could pretend that Shepard's death had never happened. The thought of what she had suffered was too awful to think about. But Shepard couldn't ignore the reality. Sometimes she still had nightmares about gasping for air in that empty void, of desperately praying for rescue even knowing it would never come. He would not leave her to suffer through that alone.

That was exactly what Kaidan had done when he had turned his back on her on Horizon. Garrus couldn't forgive that.

Tali nudged him with her elbow, bringing him out of his thoughts. "I think this is the place," she murmured, pointing to a door. He nodded and turned to his omni-tool, sending the prearranged signal to Thane. That done, he strode up to the door and rapped on it purposefully.

When Kaidan opened the door for a moment Garrus could only blink in surprise, startled by the change in the human's face. He didn't just look tired, although the dark circles under his eyes and slack set of his mouth spoke of deep exhaustion, he looked _older_. He had not noticed this on Horizon. Perhaps the change had not been evident then, or perhaps after the failure to save the colonists and the exhausting battle they had fought he had simply been under too much strain to notice.

Kaidan stared back at him, clearly surprised to find Garrus at his door at this late hour and when they both had so much work to do.

"Kai – Commander Alenko?" ventured Tali quietly.

Kaidan turned his eyes on Tali and his expression became welcoming. He had always had something of a soft spot for her. "It's still just Kaidan to you, Tali. Or does it have to be Tali'Zorah vas Neema now?"

"Just Tali," she said, and hesitated before adding, "Although it's vas Normandy now."

"Right," he muttered. There was a long silence before Kaidan seemed to remember himself and gestured them inside. "You should probably come in."

As he entered, Garrus glanced around the apartment, impressed in spite of himself. Kaidan's new position had clearly come with a pay rise. The room he led them into was spacious and filled with expensive furniture. Despite that the place felt impersonal, more like a hotel room than somebody's home. There was very little clutter: a few vids stacked neatly on top of a table, an Alliance jacket thrown carelessly over the arm of a chair. There were no holos, no evidence of happy days with family or careless nights with friends. Garrus was willing to bet that the fridge was almost bare. It looked like Kaidan didn't spend much time at home.

There were several doors leading off the main room, all but one of them closed. From the surreptitious glances he stole he guessed it was an office. A large desk, covered in neatly stacked datapads and files, took up most of the space. Kaidan had probably been working in there when they had disturbed him. The omni-tool was there; it had to be. With any luck Kaidan would allow Tali use of the room when Thane's call came through.

Kaidan showed them to their seats and they perched on them awkwardly, everyone staring studiously at the walls or floor, completely at a loss for what to say. Garrus clenched his fist, irritated with himself. In the last couple of years he had formed his own mercenary gang, stopped a rocket with his face and helped take down the Collectors. A little small talk should not be beyond the reach of his abilities.

Finally Tali broke the silence. "How have you been, Kaidan? We haven't talked since..." she trailed off, the unspoken words hanging heavily in the air. The last time they had all been together like this was when the Alliance had finally called off the search for Shepard's body and held her funeral.

"Busy," he grunted. "Anderson – Well, I can't really talk about what Anderson has me do. But it's normally far too complex and dangerous for my liking. What about you two?"

They exchanged glances. What to pick? Assisting adolescent krogan through rites of passage, perhaps? Or maybe breaking a dangerous biotic out of a prison run by a turian intent on enslaving them?

"Also busy," said Tali finally.

He looked between the two of them, watching them closely. "Confidential?"

"No, it's not that. It's just-"

"We wouldn't know where to start," finished Garrus.

They lapsed back into silence. This time Kaidan was the one to break it. "What are you doing here?" he asked shortly. "I would have thought you'd have a lot of preparations to make."

" We do," said Garrus. "We won't take up much of your time. I know that Anderson has already briefed you on the mission, but we were wondering if there was anything else you want to know."

Kaidan's expression darkened suddenly. "Let's start with why you're allowing Miranda Lawson anywhere near this mission. She's Cerberus, she can't be trusted."

"Shepard disagrees," said Garrus coolly.

"Shepard hasn't displayed the best judgement recently."

"That's not fair, Kaidan," Tali cut in quickly, seeing Garrus's eyes narrow dangerously. "You don't understand the kind of pressure she has been under."

"Perhaps that's because no one bothered to fill me in," retorted Kaidan heatedly. "If she hadn't cut me out of the loop-"

"You isolated yourself!" interrupted Garrus furiously. "She wanted you back, she practically _begged _you to join the crew."

"I don't work with terrorists," he snarled.

"We're not arguing about this, Kaidan," growled Garrus, resisting the urge to dig his talons into the arm of the sofa. "Lawson is loyal to Shepard and she is our best chance of finding her."

Thane, displaying his excellent sense of timing, chose this moment to contact Tali. She threw up one hand and used the other to tap the side of her helmet, indicating someone was attempting to talk to her. "Excuse me, one of the crew wishes to speak to me," she murmured. She brought her hand up to her face mask and lowered her head as if concentrating. "What's wrong, Thane?"

Kaidan leaned forwards in his seat, watching Tali intently as she listened to Thane. When she looked up to meet his eyes he said urgently, "What is it? Has there been news about Shepard?"

"No," she said gently, and Garrus could hear the guilt in her voice as Kaidan slumped in his seat, disappointed. Turning to Garrus she said, "Thane is having trouble accessing the account, and without credits we can't house the crew. Do you have somewhere I could speak privately, Kaidan?" she asked apologetically. "This won't take a minute."

"Of course." He rose and beckoned her to follow him. Garrus breathed an almost inaudible sigh of relief when he saw that Kaidan was taking her to his office.

As Kaidan turned to leave her, Garrus heard her say, "Alright, Thane, I'm trying to access the account now." From the glimpses he could catch of her around Kaidan, he could see that she was performing brilliantly. Her fingers flew rapidly over her omni-tool, but in a manner that was purposeful rather than furtive. She stood confidently, nothing in her pose speaking of guilt. Her voice was neutral, tinged only by a slight irritation, as she spoke to Thane, issuing instructions that he wouldn't follow and relaying progress that hadn't happened. He was relieved to see that she had chosen to stand just inside the doorway, in full sight of Kaidan.

As Kaidan resumed his seat, Garrus quickly turned his eyes back to him. Tali would be furious if he blew the whole plan by gawping at her like an idiot. "Kaidan," he said, making sure the man's attention was fully on him, "if we're going to stand a chance of getting Shepard back, we can't argue with each other."

Kaidan's eyes flashed and for a moment Garrus thought he was going to argue. Then his shoulders slumped and any vestiges of hostility seemed to dry up. "I know. I'm sorry about before, I didn't mean to..." he trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's this situation. I've been hoping to hear from Shepard for weeks, and when Anderson contacted me tonight... Well, the last thing I expected to hear was that she had been abducted."

"It's been hard on all of us," said Garrus quietly. "We care about her, too."

"At least you –" Kaidan began, heated again, before stopping abruptly and shaking his head. He seemed to make an effort to collect himself before continuing in a tone of forced calm, "I still don't like the idea of having Lawson onboard my ship. If you're wrong about her and she's still loyal to Cerberus, we could be walking into a trap."

"We're not asking you to trust her blindly," said Garrus, suddenly grateful that if any sign of guilt showed on his face Kaidan probably wouldn't be able to decipher it. "She handed her omni-tool over to you."

Kaidan waved his hand almost impatiently. "Even if I find nothing incriminating it won't prove her loyalty. It will just mean that she's worked hard to cover her tracks. But I should get back to going through it, I want to get it done by the time my ship is ready to leave."

His eyes flicked towards his study and Garrus had to resist the impulse to jump up, drawing attention away from Tali. He relaxed into his seat when he saw it wasn't necessary: she was already walking back into the room,

"Is everything alright with your crew?" asked Kaidan.

"Not quite," she said wearily. "I think I'll need to straighten things out in person."

Garrus jumped up, relieved for the excuse to leave."We should let Kaidan get back to his work, anyway."

Kaidan nodded and rose to his feet to show them out. "I take it you're coming with us?" he asked Tali as they made their way to the door.

"Of course," said Tali. "I couldn't stay here waiting to -" She broke off. _Waiting to hear if Shepard is dead_, Garrus completed silently. From the sudden tightness around Kaidan's eyes, he guessed the commander's mind had jumped to the same conclusion.

Kaidan attempted a smile. "Glad to have you along."

"It'll be just like old times," said Garrus. The words had tumbled out before he had time to think, and immediately he wished he could take them back. No matter how hard they might try, they could never return how things were onboard the old Normandy: they were like pieces of a puzzle that had become warped and no longer fit together. Everything that had happened in the last three years stood between them. The memories – the blood of the friends he had failed, Tali's betrayal by her own people, Shepard's empty coffin – were so strong they felt like a physical presence in the room.

He needed to leave. Their subterfuge had distracted him for a while, but now it was over Shepard came rushing back to the fore of his mind. He needed to plan and prepare; he needed to know he was working towards finding her. Most of all, he needed to get away from Kaidan. The last time the three of them had been together like this was Shepard's funeral, and that was the last thing he wanted to be reminded of.

He muttered a goodbye and hurried from the apartment. Behind him he heard Tali make a much politer goodbye and rush after him. She caught up and fell in with his quick pace. He knew he should ask her whether she had succeeded, but for the moment he couldn't bring himself to.

"Garrus," she began hesitantly, "are you -?"

He wanted to answer questions about his welfare even less than he wanted to talk about the mission. "Did you do it?" he interrupted.

"Yes."

He slowed down and smiled at her. His abruptness was unfair, particularly when she had betrayed a man she considered a friend because he had asked her to. "Thank you," he said with relief. "I know it wasn't an easy decision for you to make."

"It wasn't," she said shortly. "And I have chosen not to trust Miranda blindly. Garrus, I didn't just delete the data. I took copies of her transmissions to The Illusive Man. Give me a chance to look at them. Perhaps I can figure out whether she's telling the truth about being loyal to Shepard."

He stopped completely and turned to look at her with admiration. He had debated the idea of asking Tali to obtain copies, but quickly dismissed it. There would only be enough time to delete the data before Kaidan grew suspicious. He had not factored in Tali's superior speed and skill. "Do it," he ordered quietly.


	5. Departing

After Tali disappeared to analyse the data, Garrus tracked down Joker and Miranda and brought them to Anderson's office. Joker made a show of complaining about losing his shore leave, but it was clear he was glad to come along. Shepard and Joker were close, and he didn't want to be left behind if he had the chance to help he. Garrus made an excuse to explain Tali's absence, although he doubted anyone would have noticed if he hadn't drawn attention to it. Joker was busy looking anxious at the prospect of meeting Kaidan again, and Miranda and Anderson were both absorbed in work.

Everything was prepared. The crew had been found places to stay for the time being, Miranda was putting the finishing touches to their plan and Kaidan had sent word to Anderson that his crew was ready to leave as soon as he gave the word. Now there was nothing to do but wait for the commander to finish his analysis. Unbeknownst to anyone but Garrus, he also waited for Tali to finish interpreting the data they had stolen from under Kaidan's nose.

He had nothing to do but worry, mostly about where they would go once Kaidan declared it time to leave. Miranda had spent the last few hours trying to decide where to begin their search. For obvious reasons many Cerberus officers weren't aware of facilities outside of the one they worked in. As a high ranking officer Miranda knew about more than most, but even she was never told about all of them. Garrus suspected that only The Illusive Man was privy to that sort of information. If Shepard had been taken to a facility that Miranda didn't know about, he had no idea how they would find her. He didn't want to think about what they would do if Miranda turned out to be a traitor.

But he would deal with that crisis if it happened. Right now he was going to focus on manageable, less terrifying, problems such as the tension that existed between the Normandy crew and Kaidan. He obviously would never trust Miranda, and he clearly resented Garrus and Tali out of a feeling that he had been wronged somehow by being excluded from Shepard's confidence. Garrus felt a flash of anger remembering the revelation of that particular resentment. Worse than personal issues, he could foresee a problem with command. Anderson was right: Garrus needed to command the mission but Kaidan couldn't appear to lose control in front of his crew. They were going to clash, it was almost inevitable given the scene in Kaidan's apartment.

He was growing restless, constantly throwing glances at the door in the hope that he would see Tali walk through it. He had no idea where she had gone, she had simply disappeared with the promise that she would contact him as soon as possible. If Kaidan returned before her it would be difficult to explain her absence. He could only keep the commander at bay with vague excuses for so long before his suspicions turned on them.

"Garrus?" Tali's voice piped up over his comm.

He held back a sigh of relief. "Give me a moment," he murmured. To the others he said, "Tali needs my help with something." Anderson nodded in acknowledgement but the other two didn't even glance over. He tried to walk slowly from the room, making sure the door slid shut firmly behind him. "Okay, we can talk."

"Can you come and see me?"

"Sure. Where are you?"

"C-Sec."

"_C-Sec?"_

"Captain Bailey let me use one of their terminals. He'll tell you where I am."

"Got it."

He made his way down from the Presidium, glad that Tali had been fortunate enough to find Bailey. He liked the captain. He couldn't say he approved of him taking bribes off men like Elias Kelham, but at least he wasn't as rigidly by-the-book as most of the officers at C-Sec. Not to mention the fact that he had helped Garrus track down Harkin and Thane his son. When Garrus found him at his desk, he greeted him with a weary smile.

"Garrus," he said, rising immediately. "Good to see you."

"You too, Bailey."

"Looking for Tali?"

Garrus nodded. "She said you helped her."

"It was no problem ," he said, setting off down a corridor and motioning for Garrus to follow. "There are enough empty offices around at this time of night." He gave Garrus a sidelong glance. "Shepard not with you?"

"No," said Garrus shortly.

"I get it. You can't talk about it. Send her my regards, anyway." They came to a stop in front of a closed door protected by a keypad. He punched in the entry code and stepped aside as the light glowed green. "She's inside," he said, jerking his head towards the door.

"Thanks," said Garrus. As Bailey nodded and turned to leave he added, "Hey Bailey, do you want to get a drink next time I'm on the Citadel? I still owe you one for helping me with Fade."

"Sure. Bring Shepard along." He raised his hand in farewell and disappeared.

Bailey hadn't just let Tali use a terminal, he had set her up in a private office. The desk she sat behind was littered with papers and empty food containers. He guessed they belonged to the office's owner, who was probably not due to arrive for a few hours yet. She looked up as the door opened and greeted him with a relieved, "Garrus!"

"What have you found, Tali?" he asked without preamble.

She gestured him over to stand next to her. "I think Miranda was telling the truth," she said grudgingly. "She has passed along some real information to The Illusive Man, but everything important is false. Look." She tapped a few keys and a couple of messages flashed up on screen. "She told him when we would be at Omega and the Citadel. But here..." Several more strokes of the keys and this time the screen was dominated by a set of schematics. "You see?" she asked.

He did. They were the Reaper schematics EDI had obtained, and at first glance it seemed that sharing this information with The Illusive Man was enough to condemn Miranda. Closer study revealed that many details had been altered dramatically, effectively rendering the schematics useless. This made sense: to gain his trust she had passed along relatively unimportant, easily verifiable information, but had falsified data that Shepard would not want in his hands. As for disclosing their location, it was ultimately unimportant. With the amount of operatives under The Illusive Man's control, it would have been easy to find out anyway. Shepard had probably even authorised it.

"You're right," said Garrus. "There's nothing here that Cerberus could use against us. Come on, we need to get back to the others."

He lingered in the doorway while Tali swiftly erased the files. In the hallway he set a demanding pace, hoping to beat Kaidan to Anderson's office, and neither of them spoke. He was grateful for the silence, for the chance to sift through his conflicted feelings.

When he had seen the evidence that exonerated Miranda, there had been a small and unexpected surge of bitterness. It hurt that Shepard hadn't confided in him about Miranda. He wasn't naive; he knew that relationships with superior officers came with their own unique set of complications. In this case he knew Shepard was right not to tell him. The fewer people who knew about her communications with The Illusive Man the better. Shepard could not have foreseen that she would be abducted and Garrus would be thrown into command. Still, he could not quite shake the feeling that he had been betrayed in some way.

By the time they reached Anderson's office Kaidan was there waiting for them. Garrus studied his face intently for any signs that Tali had failed to delete all of the incriminating data, or that somehow he had discovered what they had done. But there was only the now familiar weariness and a mild annoyance that was easily explained as soon as Miranda opened her mouth.

"The commander was just telling us how he wasted our time," she drawled.

Kaidan glowered at her. "It was necessary." To Garrus and Tali he explained, "I found nothing on Lawson's omni-tool to suggest she still works for Cerberus. That doesn't mean I feel comfortable about allowing her onboard my ship. But if you insist..."

"We do," said Miranda forcefully.

Kaidan looked to Garrus, who nodded his support of her comment. Narrowing his eyes Kaidan said, "Fine. As I can find nothing incriminating, Ms. Lawson can come."

"Great!" said Joker, half rising from his seat. "Now that the drama's over, can we leave?"

"There are still a few things to discuss," said Anderson, and Joker rolled his eyes and flopped back into his chair. "If the Alliance or Council – or worse, the media – finds out about this, all of us will be in deeper trouble than I care to imagine. Joker's presence we could just about explain, but no one outside of the crew can know that Tali and Garrus are onboard your ship. With four members of the team that brought down Saren on the same ship, it wouldn't take much of a leap to figure out that Shepard is involved somehow."

"My people can be trusted," said Kaidan firmly. "They wouldn't be under my command if they blurted out classified information after a few too many drinks. But the ship is small and so is the crew; there's no question of sneaking you onboard and keeping you out of sight. They will ask questions."

"It would be easier to issue you with false names and papers but it's not feasible," said Anderson wearily. "With the exception of Ms Lawson, all of you are too likely to be recognised. As for why they're there, you're going to have to keep it vague, Kaidan. Say you've received new orders; hint that it came from someone very high up. I would advise telling them the Alliance has received information about important intel of a sensitive nature. The additional crew are there in an advisory capacity. Allow them to interpret that however they want. "

"Aren't you forgetting something?" interjected Joker. "I left the Alliance to team up with Cerberus. How are you going to explain that?"

Anderson waved his hand impatiently. "People only know that you left, not where you went. I'm sure you know you weren't the only Alliance soldier who went over to Cerberus. The Alliance viewed their defection as an embarrassment and did their best to cover it up. Your file says that you took early retirement."

"_Retired?" _Joker said, outraged, but was ignored as Tali put forward a more pertinent question.

"What about Shepard?" she said quietly. "How do we explain it when we find her?"

"Hopefully we'll recover the Normandy when we find her," said Miranda before Anderson had the chance to respond. " Then we can stop troubling Commander Alenko."

"And if we don't find the ship?" asked Tali.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said Garrus. "We can't afford to waste anymore time here."

"Smartest thing I've heard all night," muttered Joker.

"Garrus is right," said Anderson. "You need to begin the search for Shepard." Kaidan nodded in agreement, saluting the Councilor and promising to contact him the moment they had news. "See that you do," said Anderson. "I want to be kept informed."

Anderson wished them luck and escorted them from his office. Kaidan took the lead, talking quietly with Tali, while Garrus lingered at the rear of the group. "Miranda," said Garrus quietly, crooking a finger to signal her over. She fell in step beside him. Catching the gesture, Tali threw herself into conversation with Kaidan. He allowed them to pull ahead just far enough to be out of earshot before beginning. "Tali made a copy of the data you asked me to delete."

She stared at him in silence. When he showed no sign of continuing, she rolled her eyes and said impatiently, "And?"

He looked at her quizzically. "You're not angry?"

"Checking my story was sensible. I would have been angry if you had passed up the opportunity."

Anyone else would have been angered that he hadn't trusted them. He should have known Miranda was too pragmatic for that. "I know you haven't given any important intel to Cerberus. For what it's worth, I believe you."

"Good," said Miranda shortly. "Then perhaps we can continue with the mission without anymore interruptions."

"There she is," called Kaidan suddenly as they entered the docking bay. "She's small, nothing compared to the Normandy, but the Alliance invested her with some pretty advanced technology."

A couple of men in Alliance uniform stood talking near the ship. When they caught sight of Kaidan they sprang to attention, saluting him sharply. He grinned. "At ease. There's still five minutes of shore leave left. Might as well enjoy them."

"Thanks, commander," said one, returning his smile. He peered around Kaidan to stare at the strange group behind him with unconcealed curiosity.

"Ah," said Kaidan. "I should make introductions. Commander Garrus Vakarian and his team: Jeff Moreau, Tali'Zorah and Miranda Lawson." He pointed to each person in turn as he gave their name. Garrus noticed he had left out the 'vas Normandy' part of Tali's name. It might rile Tali, who was proud to bear the name, but it was probably wise. The Normandy was a well known ship and anyone with the slightest understanding of quarian names would find it strange. Kaidan continued, "I'll explain the details when the whole crew is onboard, but we've been reassigned. Commander Vakarian and his team are here as advisers."

One of the men nodded in acknowledgement but the other seemed more interested in Joker than his commander. "Jeff Moreau," he said contemplatively. "Hey, I know you! Didn't you lead the fight against Sovereign?"

Garrus met Kaidan's eyes . It only lasted a brief moment but it was long enough for him to know that Kaidan was just as worried. They were only a minute into the mission and already someone had made a connection to Shepard and the Normandy. Joker, apparently oblivious to the tension, grinned and said, "I see my fame precedes me."

"What was it like?" he asked eagerly.

"Find me a comfortable seat and put a decent drink in my hand and I'll tell you the whole story."

"Sure!" said the crewman, turning and motioning for Joker to follow. They disappeared into the ship, the other crewman trailing behind. Tali and Miranda exchanged a brief glance before following inside. Before Kaidan could go after them, Garrus laid a hand on his shoulder. "A moment of your time, Kai –Commander?"

Kaidan nodded and glanced around, making sure there was no one in sight before saying, "What is it, Garrus?"

"I appreciate what you're doing for us. For Shepard."

"Of course I-" He broke off, grunting in exasperation. "I'm not just going to leave her in danger. You might not believe it, but I don't hate her."

"But you don't trust her."

"She disappeared without so much as a word for _two years _and then resurfaced working for a terrorist group. Of course I'm having trouble trusting her!" His voice began to rise but he checked himself, and when he spoke again he made an effort to remain calm."I don't understand how you and Tali could just jump onboard her ship as if nothing happened."

"This will explain it," said Garrus, producing a datapad from his pocket and holding it out to Kaidan.

"What is it?" asked Kaidan, eyeing it almost warily.

In between stealing from Kaidan and Tali finishing her analysis, Garrus had made discrete inquiries. Shepard was all too aware of the rumours about her sudden and unexpected return. Most did not believe the story of her resurrection by Cerberus. Instead they believed she had been deep undercover, working on a mission given by the Alliance or the Council, or based on her own obscure motives. She had intended to put them to rest for good. From Miranda she had obtained every scrap of information about the long process of putting her back together – reports, images, even recordings – and included it in her report to Anderson. A quick conversation with Anderson confirmed that he had received the frankly harrowing data, and it had only taken a little persuasion for him to relinquish a copy to Garrus.

He explained none of this to Kaidan. He would never believe the truth until he had seen it himself. Instead he said, "Just look at it. After the crew is settled and we're on course, find somewhere private and go through every file." He paused and, almost as an afterthought, added, "I'd advise having something strong to drink close at hand."

Kaidan reached out. He opened his mouth, on the verge of questioning Garrus further, but snapped it shut and shook his head. Reaching out, his fingers hesitated over the datapad before gently curling around it. He looked down at it with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation. Garrus hoped for Shepard's sake that Kaidan would take his advice and set the mission in motion before investigating it . They couldn't afford delays.

"After you've seen everything, find me and tell me whether you still think Shepard is a traitor."

He stepped around Kaidan and walked onto the ship, leaving the commander to stare down at the datapad in his hands.


End file.
